Roses are Red, Lavenders are Blue
by KitsunexShi
Summary: A slight AU. Kurama has a sister, and Hiei has a family, including a new sister. How will the two demons deal with two hyper siblings? and what will they do when the girls meet? Kurama/OC and slight Hiei/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**So this is a two shot I wrote for my friend Emina's 16**__**th**__** birthday. Please enjoy. **_

_** Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Emina. Emina belongs to Eminakotek-nightmare. **_

_** Warnings: This is a product of me being on crack so watch out…**_

Kurama wandered down the sidewalk, as his mind juggled multiple thoughts. One part of his mind was outlining a paper he had procrastinated on. At the same time he was thinking up an excuse for disobeying Shiori. He was also plotting how to leave his little sister at her school. He knew she wouldn't tell. She had been as unenthusiastic at the idea of him picking her up at school every day as he was, but neither of them could say no to Shiori. Not after all she had sacrificed for them.

Kurama's sister went by two names, as did he. Her true name was Sin, but Shiori had named her Mizu. Sin had been born to Shiori the same way Kurama had. She had been his sister when he had been Youko, and had followed him for reasons that she refused to tell him. She didn't try to hide her demon appearance as Kurama had. When she was born, and as she grew up, she looked like the female version of Youko, with long silver hair and mischievous golden eyes. She was a petite kitsune, and was skilled with all types of weapons, and was very stubborn. She refused to adjust her personality, even if it would make living as a human easier.

To put it lightly, their personalities clashed. The only reason they hadn't killed each other was because of Shiori. But even their love for Shiori could not keep them from getting into meaningless fights, mostly over Sin causing Shiori stress or sadness. Recently Sin has acted on a childish whim, as she tended to do. She had cut her hair very short and dyed it black. Shiori had been very upset, and Kurama was still furious at Sin for that.

He looked up and found himself just outside of Sin's school. He sighed. _I might as well pick her up. _He didn't even look up when he heard the swish of fabric as Hiei jumped down from a tree, which was just inside the school gates.

"Hello kitsune."

Kurama nodded in acknowledgement to his friend.

"Are you here to pick up Emina?" Kurama asked.

Hiei simply nodded in response. Emina was Hiei's half sister. The man that fathered both Hiei and Yukina had also forced himself upon Emina's mother, giving Hiei another sister. Emina's mother had gotten married, and the couple had gladly taken in both Yukina and Hiei. By now Hiei had developed a sister complex for both girls, and he would never admit it, but Kurama had known him long enough to tell.

Kurama's mind wandered to Emina. She was a mischievous cat demon, who always seemed to attract trouble. She was also a natural telepath and telekinetic. She had long black hair, and deep, naïve, sapphire eyes. She had a certain carefree lightness about her, something that fascinated Kurama. He liked to study her, to see what interesting thing she would do next.

Suddenly a small body crashed into Hiei. Hiei caught Sin by her shoulders; he was accustom to this everyday greeting and the reaction was natural now.

"Hi Hiei-sempai!" the little girl said, smiling, her newly cut hair fluttering in the wind. Suddenly she was glomped from behind. Hiei sweatdroped and stepped away from the two fourth graders. Emina and Sin were best friends, and nearly inseparable.

"Kura-nii!" Sin pulled on Kurama's red hair.

"Yes?" He asked, gently untangling his hair from her fingers.

"Can Emi-chan come home with us today?"

Kurama sighed. He had no objections, but he was trying to punish Sin for cutting and dying her hair. Hiei glanced at Kurama.

"Just say yes, kitsune. I need your help with the English homework anyway."

Sin and Emina cheered and darted down the street. Kurama chuckled.

"You know Hiei I still can't believe your parents got you to go to school."

One of the requirements that Hiei's new guardians, Hanako and Gin, had stipulated was that Hiei had to attend school. Luckily he was fairly smart, and the things he didn't know, Kurama taught him. Nowadays, Kurama just did the homework and let Hiei copy the next day, but Hiei had to do the essays.

Kurama was snapped out of his daydreams by the sound of breaking glass ahead. He groaned, and Hiei sighed, before they both took off running to fix whatever their sisters had broken.

Kurama sat alone at his desk. Emina and Hiei had left a few minutes ago. Sin was in her room, trying to finish her homework. He sighed and attempted to focus on his essay. _I wonder what Emina-chan is doing right now...._ Kurama could just imagine her, clinging to Hiei's hand, shying away from the shadows of dusk. Kurama smiled, and leaned back. She really was very cute. By now he knew not to say that to her face; last time she had set his hair on fire, and thrown kitchen knives at him.

There was something about her that fascinated Kurama. It was that fascination that kept him thinking about her. That fascination kept him up at night, going over the parts of the day he had been with her, analyzing the conversation for clues to why she was so interesting. He wanted to know why he couldn't take his eyes off her when they were together, and why he couldn't stop thinking about her.

He shook his head and stared at the half written essay. _Damn it... I need to focus. It's late... _He got to work.

A half hour later he sighed and pushed his chair away from the desk. _I might as well give up. I can't focus. I'll finish this tomorrow at lunch...._ He got up and changed into pajamas and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. As soon as he had stopped concentrating on the essay hismind wandered to Emina. Today had been really fun.

**Sin and Emina had locked themselves in Sin's room like usual and Kurama and Hiei had sat down at the kitchen table to outline Hiei's essay. Things were peaceful for about a half an hour. Then giggles came from the locked room. It was obvious that the girls were trying to stifle the sounds, but Kurama's sensitive ears picked up the sounds easily. Hiei seemed to hear them too. Kurama looked at Hiei across the table. **

"**Think we should check on them?"**

**Hiei gave a slight nod and stood silently. They walked up the stairs, and Kurama stood in front of Sin's door and quickly picked the lock. He slowly pushed the door in and peeked in the opening in the door. Something hard hit him in the forehead and he yelped, and jumped away from the door.**

**Peals of laughter came from inside and Hiei snickered. Kurama glared at Hiei, trying to hide his embarrassment. Sin and Emina came out of the room; holding handmade guns. Sin smirked down at him.**

"**Don't overreact. It was just an eraser." She informed him.**

**Emina had a similar smirk on her face. "I thought he would see it."**

**Sin grinned at her friend. "He's not that cool. Nice aim by the way."**

**Emina giggled and faked a bow. Then Sin suddenly spun around and rapidly fired two shots at Hiei. One hit him in the stomach, but he dodged the other. She laughed harder and did a victory dance. Kurama reached out, grabbed Sin's ankle and Emina's wrist, and pulled. Sin fell backward and hit her head on the wall, and Emina fell forward, ending up next to him. Kurama quickly held her hands over her head, making sure she couldn't use the gun. Hiei pounced on Sin and wrenched the gun from her hands. Sin tackled him, and they wrestled as she tried to get the gun back.**

**Emina thrashed around and whined, "Lemme go!"**

**Kurama chuckled at her. "Sorry. I would rather not get shot at again. Little girls shouldn't have weapons." He heard a small yelp, and glanced over to see Hiei pinning Sin to the floor. Kurama smirked, and pried the gun from Emina's grip and gloated, "I think we won."**

**She attempted to growl at him and he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Then his mother's voice came up the stairs. **

"**Hiei-kun? Emina-chan?"**

"**Hai?" Emina answered, seeing that Hiei was otherwise occupied.**

"**Your parents just called and told me to tell you to come home. Try to hurry, alright? We don't want them not letting you come here ever again."**

**Emina sighed. "Alright. Let's go Hiei-nii."**

**Hiei said nothing and stood, pulling Sin onto her feet as he did. She took advantage of the momentum and hugged him tight.**

"**Bye-bye Hiei-sempai!!!" **

**Kurama watched amused as Hiei's face turned slightly pink. He snickered slightly, then looked away when Hiei sent a death glare in his direction. He smiled down at Emina; and ruffled her hair. **

"**See you tomorrow, Emina-chan."**

**She hugged him briefly then embraced Sin before running down the stairs, dragging Hiei with her. Sin yelled after them, **

"**Bye Emi-chan! Bye Hiei-sempai!"**

**Emina yelled her goodbyes from the front door before running into the night. **

Kurama smiled and then his mind once again returned to the image of Emina clinging to Hiei's arm. He went back to his room and turned off the lights before collapsing on his bed. If he didn't know better he would say that he was jealous of Hiei in that moment, but he knew better so it must not be that. He took a deep breath and tried to fall asleep.

_Why is she so interesting? She's just another girl. I've seen plenty of girls. _Yet he couldn't tear his mind from Emina. He kept thinking about her innocent, yet mischievous blue eyes, and long silky black hair. He thought about the casual hug she had given him just today, then about the million other friendly embraces they had shared in the past. He thought about the one time she had gotten lost, and he had found her, and the way she had clung to his hand until he took her back to her house.

Somehow, she was different from all the other girls he had met. He felt an inexplicable urge to protect her, to be with her. He began to imagine how it would feel, to hold her. To honestly hold her, not just briefly, but to pull her closer to him, breathe in her scent, stroke her hair. Suddenly the image changed to one of the two of them kissing. His breath caught; and he sat up quickly. He knew he was bright red, but he didn't know why. He had kissed many girls before, why would kissing Emina be any different?

He decided that it must be because he had never kissed a girl in this body. It must be the human in him suddenly becoming ashamed of things that were natural. With that conclusion, he slipped into a dreamless sleep.

Six months later, Kurama walked a pretty blonde home. She was a gymnast, and had the figure to show for it, with sharp purple eyes and long golden locks. He had given up trying to figure out Emina. He had decided there were other fish in the sea, no reason to be stuck on one when he could get any. Not that he would tell Ana that.

"Goodbye Suiichi-kun." Ana smiled at him. Kurama hugged her, and gave her a small peck on the lips.

"Goodbye, Ana-chan." He waited until she went into her house to walk towards home. He hadn't been around as much, so he hadn't seen Emina for what seemed like forever.

"Kurama-sempai?" A soft voice said from behind him.\

His eyes widened. _Could it really be- _

He turned and a slow smile crept across his face. "Hello Emina-chan."

She didn't smile back. He wondered what was wrong.

"Do you want me to walk you home Emina-chan?"

She shrugged. He decided that it couldn't hurt to spend some time with her. For half of the walk to her house, it was silent. They were halfway home when he finally gave in and broke the silence

"What are you doing all the way out here alone?" he inquired.

She kept her eyes in front of her. "I went to the library."

Kurama nodded. "So how have you been?"

"Fine."

And once again, the only noise was the sound of their footsteps. After another five minutes Emina broke, and turned to him, stopping in the middle of the road.

"Who was that girl? Is she really your girlfriend?" she blurted out, seeming a little distressed.

Kurama took a step back, a little surprised at her tone.

"Yes." He answered calmly.

Emina bit her lip and continued walking. Her question triggered unwanted thoughts, but he quickly pushed them to the back of his mind Instead, he wondered how to deal with Sin tonight; he was babysitting again. Suddenly, Emina tripped, right next to him. He reached out and grabbed her hand to pull her back onto her feet, but he misjudged her weight, and she toppled into him. He was barely able to keep on his feet. He hugged her and laughed.

"What did you trip over this time Emina-chan?"

She turned bright red and pouted. He chuckled. She was so adorable when she did that. His mind caught that thought._ She's a fourth grader of course she's adorable... It's nothing more than that.... nothing more.... even if it was Hiei would kill me so.... It's just that she's a cute little fourth grader. Just that._

Then her expression changed. She turned cold once again and pulled away from his embrace. He blinked, and a small pain in his chest accompanied by an unpleasant pull in his gut surprised him. They were odd feeling sensations that he had never felt before. He reached out and grabbed her hand again, and the pang in his chest eased a bit. She jumped and stared at him. He couldn't help but think she **was** cute. Now he simply accepted it as a fact. Emina was cute. End of story.

"Kurama-sempai? Can you let go?" She asked politely.

"No." He responded. "We don't want you tripping again do we?"

She just turned and pouted.

He chuckled. "You're very cute."

A pretty blush spread across her face. He blinked. He had noticed this more and more with her. Whenever he would jokingly say something like that she would blush. He stored the information for later.

"Shut up. Don't say that. " Emina told him, her tone turning cold.

"Why?"

She turned away so that he couldn't see her eyes. "Don't say things you don't mean."

"But... I do mean it."

She shook her head and wrenched her hand from his. Then she ran to the door of her house, yelling over her shoulder, "Don't act like you care for me! Just go be happy with your girlfriend and keep ignoring me and Sin and Hiei!" With that she slammed the door.

He stood there shocked. He didn't know what to make of this. He knew it was true, he had been hanging out with Ana a lot more than his other friends, but why would that bother Emina? He walked home slowly, processing this new information.

The next day he was very tired. He had only slept a few hours, because he could not seem to make sense of the occurrences of the day before. He picked up Ana and walked her to school. She noticed his silence and asked him what was wrong. He gave her a fabricated excuse, and she seemed to believe him. At school he tried to talk to Hiei, but Hiei seemed strangely interested in the lessons.

At lunch Kurama found Hiei in a tree, and cornered him.

"Hi, Hiei."

"Hn."

"Want to hang out after school?"

Hiei glared down at him. "Don't you have to walk some stupid girl home?"

Kurama shrugged. "I'm sure she would understand if I didn't walk her home this one day."

Hiei looked away. "I'm busy today."

Kurama felt a little nauseous. He had really wanted to hang out with someone to get his mind off all the confusing things, and Hiei had been his only option. Now, he wasn't sure what to do.

"Really? What are you doing?"

Hiei glared at Kurama full force. "Consoling my little sister, because apparently you upset her. Maybe instead of hanging out with me, you should take care of yours for a change." With that, Hiei grabbed his school bag and jumped off the tree, and walked away. Kurama blinked. He was really confused.

That day he quickly explained to Ana that he needed to take care of some family matters and picked Sin up from school. The way home was silent. Once in the house, she immediately went into her room and locked the door. Kurama made himself some coffee and sat there alone.

After an hour, Sin rushed down the stairs.

"Bye Kurama-nii."

He glanced up to see her putting on her coat.

"Where are you going?"

"To play with Emina."

He sighed. "Why don't you stay here?"

She stared at him. "WHY?!" she shrieked. "I finished ALL my homework and my chores, and Mom won't even know I'm gone!!!"

"Why don't you stay here and hang out with me? Or invite Emina-chan over."

She glared at him. "I don't think she wants to see you."

"Why would that be?"

"Take one guess, Einstein." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and venom.

He shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Then maybe you should stay here on your own and figure it out. It's really not that hard, if you are honest with yourself and realize your feelings.... It's PAINFULLY obvious, Kurama. Everyone can see it. Even your girlfriend. She's not too happy with you by the way." With that, Sin left, slamming the door after her.

He sat back and thought, hard. _Even Ana is mad at me? What's going on? _Once again he thought of his off handed comment. _You're very cute. _The way she had blushed afterward, the way she had hardened her heart and ignored him as best she could had hurt him a lot and he couldn't think why. The pains in his gut and chest.... he had no idea what was happening. After hours of thinking he couldn't think of anything. He shook his head, and got up, ready to go to bed.

Then the phone rang. He wandered over to it, and answered.

"Hello."

"Hi... Suichii?"

"Yes? Ana is that you?"

"Yeah its me... uh... I wanted... invite you on a date tomorrow. W-What do you think?" She sounded nervous.

He smiled. This was exactly what he needed. "That sounds like fun. What time?"

The next day, he quickly pulled on the clothes he had chosen last night. He grabbed his wallet and said goodbye to Sin. She glared at him and called him some obscene names.

He hurried out of the house, barely dodging a plate aimed at his head. He checked his watch. _I better hurry. I want to be early. _He picked up the pace and made it to the meeting place five minutes early. Ana was already there. He put one hand behind his back and quickly grew a bouquet of white roses, which he knew were her favorite flowers.

"Ana-chan!" He called out to her.

She turned and smiled at him. "Suichii-kun, it's so good to see you!"

He handed her the flowers. "I got these for you...."

She smiled at him and took them. "Thank you. They're beautiful." She leaned in and they shared a brief kiss.

A movement caught his eye, and he looked over to see Emina walking through the street carrying an armful of books. He followed her progress taking in the way her hair fluttered in the slight breeze, the concentration on her face as she tried not to trip. He watched the way she was walking; it was obvious she was in a hurry.

Through his observations, Ana's voice broke his concentration.

"SUICHII-KUN!!!!" she was practically yelling, and she had tears in her amethyst eyes.

He tore his concentration away from Emina and smiled at Ana.

"Yes Ana-chan?"

She shook her head, and she looked upset. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Why are you always looking at her!? Look at me! You said you want to be with me.... but..."

"I DO want to be with you Ana-chan!"

She shook her head again. "I don't think so anymore. I see the way you watch her. Everyone knows but you don't seem to have a clue. I tried so hard to overlook it, ignore it but I can't. Believe me, this is the best for both of us, Suichii. You need to be with her. Since your to dense to realize it, I'm going to tell you what's going on. You're in love with her. Your in love with Emina-chan."

He stared at her. "What? That's absurd. Ana... I love you!" He knew this was a lie as soon as he told her this. He had never been in love with anyone in his life and he didn't plan on starting now. "I mean- she's in fourth grade! And she's my best friend's little sister. That's how I feel about her. She's like my little sister."

Ana smiled sadly at him. "You will never know how much I wish that was true. But even if you don't realize it yet, it's not true. You can keep telling yourself those silly things, but eventually you will have to face it. I'm going to help you because I think you need that last push." She handed the roses back to him. Then she leaned up and gave him a soft, lingering kiss. When she pulled away, she smiled and said, "Goodbye Suichii. Give those flowers to her."

He couldn't believe his ears. "G-Goodbye?"

Ana giggled slightly. "What? Have you never been rejected before? I'm breaking up with you, Suichii. See you tomorrow at school."

With that she turned and left him there, feeling very, very confused.

Three sleepless nights later, Kurama had come to a disturbing conclusion. All of the things he had been feeling or had felt for Emina could only mean one thing. And now, because he hadn't realized it, he was in to deep to change anything.

He was head over heels for his best friend's little sister. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to talk to her. He knew he couldn't wait till the morning.

Feeling like he was in a trance, Kurama picked up the phone and started to punch in numbers. Then, his hand trembling, he held it to his ear as it rang once, twice, three times. Finally a sweet, piercingly familiar voice answered at the other end. Breathless, Kurama swallowed, then said,

"Emina-chan? I need to talk to you."

_** There we go! Here's the first chapter! Please enjoy!!!!!!!!!! Review please…**_


	2. Chapter 2: Thanksgiving

_**Here's the second part. Its set further in the future of the story. I did a slight recap. Enjoy! **_

_He held onto the phone, clinging to it for dear life, trying to calm the involuntary shaking of his hands. He would be ready when she picked up the phone. She answered much too soon, and her sweet voice shattered every ounce of composure he managed to muster. _

"_Hello?" He wasn't ready. For a moment he didn't respond. "Hello?!" The irritation in her voice snapped him back to reality._

"_H-Hey... Emina?" As if he didn't know it was her. He could tell her angelic voice anywhere. _

"_...Oh hey Kurama." The lack of enthusiasm in her voice really hurt him, especially in comparison to her normal greetings. _

"_...Emi... Emina-chan... I need to talk to you..."_

"Kurama!!!!" The not so gentle voice ripped him away from his daydream back into reality. He turned to face his little sister, Sin, who was glaring at him, fuming. _What did I do this time? _He wondered, scanning his surroundings for his wrong doing. His sharp nose alerted him of the problem. _Oh shit..._

"Sin, I-"

She cut him off not wanting to hear his lame excuses. "What the hell were you daydreaming about Kurama!?" She brushed past him, flipping her waist length black hair over her shoulders; too keep from burning it, before opening the oven, which coughed black smoke into her face. She pulled on oven mitts and snatched a burning turkey from inside the oven. After carefully placing it on the stove top she turned to him, eyes smoldering. "Great. We were going to work together and surprise Mom by making Thanksgiving dinner and YOU had to go and BURN the TURKEY!"

He winced. It certainly was true... "I'm sorry. I was just..."

She growled. "Either confess to her that you love her or forget her but stop screwing up my life because you're too prideful to admit your madly in love with Emi!"

He glared at her. "Shut up. I'll fix it."

She shook her head. "You wish. I'm not letting you touch this turkey anymore. Go set the table. Mommy will be home soon."

"...You know you've been day dreaming a lot too." Her amber eyes turned to stare at him. "I mean... Since Emi and Hiei have been busy with school, we haven't gotten the chance to meet up. I bet your missing seeing you're boyfriend." He watched in amusement as her face turned pink. She turned her back on him, mumbling,

"He's not my boyfriend stupid... I HAVE a boyfriend so don't even joke about that."

Kurama's eyes widened.

"You do?"

"Yeah." She responded casually, "And if you had been paying attention at all you would have known that. I've told you and mom many times."

"Hiei's going to be upset..." He teased, dodging the frying pan that was thrown at his head.

"SHUT UP Kurama! He probably has a girlfriend too!" With that she stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the smoldering fowl in his care. He chuckled lightly. _She's so easy to tease... _Soon though, the good mood created by tormenting his sister faded, and he sighed heavily. Another Thanksgiving without Emi. It was about this time that they had moved. When Shiori broke the news to them... she wasn't exactly received well.

"_MOVING?!" Sin screamed. "WHY?! Mom, we've lived here since I was BORN! I don't want to leave! My only friends are here!! And... And... My school... we're going to leave in the middle of the semester! I don't wanna move!!!" _

_Although he did not condone such childish behavior, Kurama had to agree with his sister. _

"_Mother... I don't understand. Why now? Can't we wait until the school year ends" __**Or never move at all?**__ He added mentally. _

_Shiori sighed. "Its because of my work. Now you can both still go to the same school so don't try that. I'm sorry that you have to move away from your best friends. I know that moving is hard and-"_

_She was cut off by Sin screaming in frustration and stomping out of the room in tears. Kurama gave his mother a pained look, and followed Sin._

He sighed and shook off the memory. He still hadn't managed to tell Emina his feelings. On the night of that failed phone call, when he heard her voice, she sounded so innocent and childish, and he remembered, while they were both technically much older than they claimed, he, a kitsune well over 1000, was still much older than her, a cat demon of only about 200. They were both adults on the inside... but in this world, and in her mind, she was still a child. So he had instead asked her about the book he had loaned her a little while ago, and still hadn't told her his feelings.

He went outside the kitchen and set the table, trying to contribute at least a little to the dinner. He heard Sin coming downstairs from the attic and he turned to see her bringing dusty candles and a cornucopia filled with spider webs.

"...Are we actually going to use that?" He asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust, gesturing toward the cornucopia. She nodded, and placed it in his hands.

"Since you screwed up dinner... YOU get to clean it out" She went into the kitchen, presumably to find a way to make the turkey presentable. He went out to the front porch, so not to get any spiders on the table, and used a damp rag to pull out and clean all the fake fruit, and then to clean the inside of the wicker horn-shaped basket. He came back inside, a half an hour later, to see Sin placing the final plates of food on the table.

"What took you so long?" She asked, annoyed. He flinched, expecting the well deserved scolding, but it didn't come. She just shook her head. "Just thinking of Emi again huh?" She began to rearrange the plates, and add more chairs.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his emerald eyes following her movements.

"Mom called and said we are going to have visitors. Probably one of her boyfriends." Her teeth clenched at that last comment, and her eyes flashed angrily. Kurama couldn't help but feel sorry for any man his mother chose to date.

"But Sin, if it were only her boyfriend then why did she ask you to set five extra places. We would only need one." He pointed out, now curious to who his mother was bringing.

"Well obviously he's brining his kids along..." She made a face. "She better not expect me to be friends with them."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Is everything ready?"

"Yeah. She should be here soon too..." Sin flopped down in a recliner in the living room, right next to the huge, almost wall length window. She twisted her now long dark hair around her fingers in irritation. She didn't like waiting for anyone, and it made it worse that she had to wait with her hated brother.

"...So how's school?" He asked, trying to keep himself from boredom. She gave him a scathing look.

"It's not that much different from sixth grade. It sucks." After fifth grade, Emina was moved to another class, and the two hadn't been in the same class since. Even now, in seventh grade, Sin had not made any other friends, even though she hardly saw Emina anymore. Last year they had been lucky and had the same lunch period, but this year, their schedules didn't even permit a meeting in the halls between classes.

In a way, moving had been harder on her than on him. Kurama, who had many friends, and people who liked him, had plenty of company, when he wasn't in the three classes he had with his best friend, Hiei. But Sin had such a bad attitude, that most everyone was afraid to approach her. As far as he knew, she had very few friends, other than Emina, and they were more afraid of her than amiable. How she had managed to score a boyfriend he had no idea. She was pretty, but that was possibly her only good point.

"I wish... I wish we could spend Thanksgiving with Emina and Hiei." Sin mumbled a hint of sadness in her voice. He glanced at her, feeling a small pang of pity. She flicked a piece of wax that had dripped off the candles and he glared at her. He didn't pity her at all. He heard the metallic grinding of a key being forced into the lock. Kurama noticed Sin's head turn slightly toward the noise, before looking back at him.

"...Mom's home." She said, standing slowly. "Truce?" She held out her hand. He shook it.

"Until Thanksgiving is over." He added, dryly.

She nodded at him, and released his hand, before turning and going to put the side dishes in their own serving dishes. He turned to face the door when it opened, and he smiled politely at his mother, ready for whatever she was bringing to dinner. His eyes widened and his polite smile transformed into a full fledged grin when he saw a silver blur headed to him. He opened his arms and accepted the hug from the small girl.

"Emi!" He hugged her tightly to him reveling on how much she had changed from the last time he saw her. She had cut her silvery hair short, and it hung freely just above her shoulders. And she had grown a few inches. She moved away from the hug and smiled flawlessly at him.

"Hey! How are you?" She asked. He felt his heart flutter happily. It had been about half a year since he had actually seen her in person. He had talked to her on the phone, but they lived too far apart to hang out.

"I'm feeling much better now." He glanced over her head to see her mother, Hana, and her father, Gin, talking with Shiori. Leaning against the wall was Hiei, who nodded in acknowledgement when Kurama smiled and waved at him. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming over?" He inquired, ushering her into a chair.

She grinned mischievously. "It was a secret. We wanted to surprise you guys!" He chuckled at her cute expression.

"How's school going for you?"

She took a deep breath before beginning to rant about the stupid, annoying girls in her class, and he just smiled, and allowed himself to be wrapped up in her craziness.

"Kurama-sempai, where is Sin?" Emina asked after a while.

"She's probably still in the kitchen." He responded, motioning toward the doorway. Emi grinned and peeked into the kitchen. Kurama glanced in and chuckled at what he saw.

Hiei was leaning against the counter; arms crossed, making fun of Sin, while she came back with a range of retorts, most of which were not so witty. He yanked a lock of hair, and she yelped and yelled at him, "What the hell was that for!?"

He smirked. "Long hair is meant to be pulled."

She growled at him. "Ikota-kun likes my hair." She said, sulking.

"Ikota?"

"My boyfriend." She smiled. "He's really nice! And Shiori likes him."

Hiei let no emotion slip into his expression when he quipped, "He must be blind and dumb to date an ugly annoying girl like you."

Her jaw dropped and she tried to hit him with a spatula. He caught it easily, further angering her. "THAT WAS MEAN!"

He shrugged. "Who said I wasn't?" She was about to retort when Emina called out her name enthusiastically.

"SIN-CHAAAAAAN!" Emi flew out of her hiding place and hugged her best friend tightly. "You got a boyfriend!? That's so cool! I wanna meet him!"

Sin's eyes went wide. "...EMI!" She hugged her friend back, nearly squeezing the life out of the taller girl.

"S..in... c...ant... b....re...a...the...." Emi gasped out.

"O-oh sorry!" Sin released her immediately. "Why are you guys here!? I mean I'm happy but... it's a long way!"

"Mom and Dad said they were sick of seeing their children mope around sooo they brought us here!"

"Can you stay the night?" Sin asked hopefully.

Emi pondered the question for a moment. "I'm not sure. Lets ask!"

The two seventh graders scurried off into the dining room, ready to beg on their knees for the chance to stay together. Kurama turned to Hiei.

"You didn't have to be that cruel to her."

"Hn." Hiei ignored his friend and sat in the windowsill by the counter.

"...I didn't know she had a boyfriend either. I wonder what he's like." He waited a moment for his friend to respond. Hiei didn't make another sound. Kurama looked at him... to find he was asleep. He blinked, surprised. _Well that's weird..._

Emi and Sin dashed back into the kitchen screaming at the same time, so that he couldn't understand a single word.

He did his best to decipher what the two girls were saying. "...So you can stay the night?" He asked Emi.

"OF COURSE!" She screamed before they ran back into the dining room, ready to eat the dinner he and Sin had prepared. He chuckled slightly and woke Hiei.

"Time to eat."

Hiei nodded, and the two boys walked slowly out of the kitchen into the chaos that was Thanksgiving dinner.

~~~To be continued...~~~

_**I think I might continue it. Maybe. If you ask for more you will get more. If not then whatever. **_


	3. Chapter 3: Bloody Christmas

_**Hi there! Wow I finally updated. Sorry it took so long. The update has been done for a while but my parents haven't been letting me use the computer… **_____

_**I know the chapter is short but I have an idea for the next chapter (although who knows how long that will take)**_

_**By the way, bolded parts in the story are flashbacks. This occurs about one year after the last chapter. **_

_**Thank you so much for reading!**_

_**Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho doesn't belong to me. And Emi belongs to Eminakotek_Nightmare. Check out her stories sometime. She updates regularly!**_

Kurama struggled to remain calm, as he took in the scene before him.

He was holding a crying Emina in his arms, and Sin was laying before him in his bed, her blood seeping into his blankets. Hiei loomed over the raven haired girl, his face twisted with hatred and a strange, helpless expression that Kurama had never seen before. The fire demon's hands griped his katana so hard his knuckles were white as paper.

Kurama concentrated, clearing his mind, and mentally recounting how this had all started.

"**I'm going out!" Sin pulled on a red windbreaker over her black turtleneck shirt, and straightened her black and red plaid mini skirt, complete with red leggings and black combat boots, before turning to wave to her family. Shiori smiled after her daughter, and replied,**

"**Have fun, Mizu-chan." **

**Kurama helped his mother clear the breakfast dishes. And he called after his sister whose black tresses were disappearing out the door,**

"**Don't be out too late! Hiei and Emina will be over at four to decorate the tree!" The door slammed behind her. He sighed and smiled ruefully at Shiori. His mother sent him a worried glance. "She's getting older now," he assured her. "She can take care of herself."**

"**Oh I know. I just wish I could at least meet this boy…" Kurama lifted the dishes from his mother's hands and placed them in the dishwasher.**

"**Don't worry Mother. We have to let Sin make her own choices." Shiori tutted disapprovingly at her son.**

"**Don't call your sister that horrible nickname! Where did you come up with it anyway?"**

"**She came up with it, Mother, and she prefers it when her friends use it."**

"**Still, it has to be detrimental to be called 'Sin' all your life."**

**Kurama almost chuckled at the irony. His sister had been called Sin for a lifetime already. Maybe that was why she was so annoying sometimes. "Alright. I won't call her that anymore," he promised, for what must have been the hundredth time.**

"**Thank you" Shiori sighed. "Why couldn't she bring him home? They've been dating for over a year now!" Kurama closed the dishwasher, and glanced at the Christmas tree in the living room. It was true. A year had passed since the joyful thanksgiving feast when Hana and Gin had surprised them by coming to dinner with their friends. Now a bullet train had been built, seemingly for the sole purpose of connecting the friends. It took a five minute trip by train to get to each other's houses. **

**Sin and Kurama could avoid the usual train fees by simply boarding the top of the train before the conductors came looking for their tickets, and Emina manipulated the conductors' minds so they never asked her and her brother to present tickets. Because of the train, the girls could see each other more often and Sin didn't mope around the house like she had last year. Then again, this year she had three classes with Emina, one of which was lunch. **

"**I don't know. But she's young. She probably doesn't want us to embarrass her or something. We have to trust her choice of companions. I'm sure she'll be fine."**

He sincerely regretted those words now…

He turned his gaze back to the girl on the bed. Sin's dark hair was matted with blood that gushed from a deep wound in her skull. He hadn't noticed the wound before, and he glanced at Emina, who was too busy crying in his shirt to notice, and he looked at Hiei, who was trying unsuccessfully to stem the blood flow from her many wounds. Kurama gently released the now silver-haired girl from his arms. Her powers had fully matured, and Emi had come to resemble the demon she was. Her hair was pale silver and her eyes had turned blood red like her brother's. Kurama found them quite beautiful and entrancing, and he would have loved to stay there, with the gorgeous child in his arms, staring into her eyes for hours. But there were more pressing concerns at the moment.

He gently pushed her away, and stood up. Emi looked up at him, tears streaming from her eyes.

"I need to heal Sin, Emina," he said quietly. The girl nodded and wiped her tears away. Kurama approached Hiei and took the roll of gauze the fire demon was holding uselessly. Hiei glared at him, his pupils dilated from anger and bloodlust. Kurama was reminded of how the small fire demon had looked when he had burst through Kurama's window just minutes before.

**Her black hair blended with his cloak, and his eyes were burning with anger as he stood in the window sill, silhouetted against the blood moon that hung in the sky. The girl lay limp in his arms, her lips colored with fresh blood that Kurama realized with horror was her own. **

Kurama shook the memories away again and focused on cleaning the brutal gash in his sister's skull. He began to wrap the wound, when out of the corner of his eye he noticed Hiei, bent over the bleeding girl's leg, trying his hardest to wrap it, but his movements were clumsy and the bandages didnt seem quite right. Kurama finished wrapping her head, and stepped back to watch Hiei for a moment.

The boy's eyes were wide with suppressed anger, and forced concentration. His hands shook, causing his wrappings to be too loose, then too tight. Kurama had never seen the fire demon like this. Then again, Hiei had grown surprisingly attached to the girl, and something like this would certainly shake him up, especially since Kurama knew he would rather be out killing whoever hurt her, or if he had done so already, massacring an unsuspecting band of thieves somewhere in Makai, rather than trying to fix her wounds. Kurama's eyes strayed to the wound, and was shocked to see the bleeding had worsened. Although Hiei didn't have the same amount of medical knowledge as Kurama did, he was still more than proficient at simple first aid.

Emina noticed Hiei's clumsy work and pulled at his hands, trying to take over his place.

"Let me do it! You're doing it all wrong!" She brushed away the tears, a futile motion, seeing as fresh tears quickly replaced the ones she pushed away. The albino girl began to try and fix Hiei's work, although her corrections were no better than his original attempt.

"I was doing fine! Get out of the way!" Hiei growled at his little sister, his eyes flashing red as he tried to snatch the gauze from her hands. Emina pulled it back, retorting defiantly,

"Yeah maybe if you were trying to kill her!"

"Get OFF! She's going to die if we don't help." Hiei shouted at the albino next to him whose hands were already soaked in blood. Kurama cleared his throat to stop them, when he noticed the steady flow of blood streaming from a deep wound in his sister's arm down her arm, and dripping from her finger to the floor. He forgot where he was for a moment, and the onslaught of horrifying images drown out the sound of his friends fighting.

**Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Her blood fell steadily onto his windowsill, silencing the argument he and Emina had been having. Her cheeks glinted in the moonlight, streaked with blood and tears. Her right arm was slung over her body… Except… that was her left arm, bent at an utterly unnatural angle. Kurama felt his stomach churn as he stared at his sister's broken body. **

Hiei drew his hand up sharply, shattering the horrendous memories, and Kurama moved without thinking. He caught his friends wrist and pulled him away from Emina before Hiei struck the girl, an act Kurama knew he would regret. Hiei twisted in the red head's vice grip, glaring up at his friend, and growled,

"What are you doing? She's killing Sin!" Kurama saw a look of wild panic in Hiei's eyes, a look he'd never seen before, and he released Hiei's wrist, surprised. When the small demon turned to go back to Sin's side, Kurama grabbed his shoulder.

"Hiei, Neither of you are helping at all at this rate. Forget your little fight until Sin is back in a stable condition." Hiei glowered at Kurama, but when the fox released him, he made no move toward the bloody girl on the bed. Emina was bending over Sin's leg again, wrapping and rewrapping, shaking, never getting the bandage quite right. Kurama sighed and gently placed his hands over hers, ignoring the pleasurable tingle he felt as their skin met. He spoke next to the young girl's ear, his voice gentle but the underlying command was clear.

"Emina, let me take care of that. Time is of the essence and I'm far more suited for this than you are." She opened her mouth to argue, but he quickly continued, cutting her off. "I need you to do a job I can't do. We're going to clean Sin up, but I'm not sure how to explain all of this to Shiori. After all, its well past midnight and I have a feeling Sin won't want to talk about her 'break up'. Do you think you could alter Shiori's memory a bit?"

Emina nodded, and smiled at him weakly. "Of course!" Then she spun on her heel and disappeared into the hallway in a swirl of silver hair. The fox smiled a bit, and he turned to Hiei, who was now sitting on the bed, brushing Sin's bloody dark hair back from her face. Knowing he would be in the way, Kurama briskly walked to the bed, threading his fingers through his unruly scarlet mane, searching for the right seed as he addressed Hiei.

"I need a few damp towels, and definitely some more gauze. Also…" He paused, abandoning his search for the moment, and reached into his bedside dresser, removing a small packet of crushed herbs. He held them out to Hiei. "Make some tea with of these. They'll dull her pain and hasten the healing process."

Hiei nodded quickly, and in a blur of black he too was gone from the room. Kurama sighed, and wove his fingers through his hair reach for the seed that would-

The redhead faultered. Which seed did he need? He realized, much to his chagrin that he was shaking, violently. He couldn't remember a time when he was too overcome with emotions to remember the purposes of a seed, but now, he tore at his hair in frustration, pulling handful after handful of useless seeds, whose uses he couldn't bring to mind. He traced the familiar patterns, feeling the knowledge deep down, just out of reach, hiding behind the awful images he had been repressing while the other two were present.

Now, alone, vulnerable, Kurama felt a sinking feeling, and he reeled back as he lost himself once more within his mind.

**The black clad boy jumped soundlessly onto the floor, and suddenly Emina let out a choked wail, unable to hold back the tears that were suddenly flowing down her face. She had never seen her friend so helpless.**

"**W-Who did this to her?" Emina whispered, reaching forward to gently stroke the girl's face. Her blood red eyes scanned her best friend's body, taking in the damage. They sparked and began to burn with anger. "WHO DID THIS!" She repeated, her voice thick with tears.**

**Hiei did not answer. Instead he lay Sin down on the bed. Her lips parted and she moaned in pain at the change in positions. Hiei bit back his anger and began to search for something to tend to her wounds. Emina grasped at her brother's cloak. **

"**Hiei! Tell me so I can kill whoever did this!" Hiei gripped Emina's hand roughly, suddenly shoving her away, harder than he intended to. Her tiny body slammed into the wall, but his eyes did not yield any emotion. **

"**Shut up, dammit!" he shouted at her. "Sin is about to die! Can't you ever focus on whats important you useless girl!" With those words, Emina burst into tears and buried her face into Kurama's chest, as he had just rushed to her side. Kurama struggled to remain calm, as he took in the scene before him.**

Kurama felt a calloused hand shake him roughly by the shoulders, and a deep, husky voice snapped him out of the flashback.

"Pull yourself together fox!" Hiei glared at the green eyed boy kneeling before him on the floor. Kurama stared uncomprehendingly into blood red eyes, dazed for a moment, before collecting himself and rising to his feet. Hiei released his shoulders and turned to the prone figure on the bed, and Kurama silently thanked him for not sneering at his moment of weakness. Hiei stood motionless, helplessly, for he didn't know what to do for the small girl lying on the bed before him, whose life was oozing slowly out of her body.

Kurama felt his control slowly seep back into his bones and he gritted his teeth and took control of the situation once again. Ignoring the useless and mostly poisonous seeds scattered at his feet he carefully selected a plant whose healing abilities were legendary in Makai. He let his energy flow into the seed, and calmly watched as it formed a living cast around his sister's left arm. He watched as the vines of the plant penetrated her flesh, wrapping itself around the bone and slowly forcing it back into place.

Sin arched off the bed, and Kurama, who was prepared for such a reaction, quickly stuffed a towel into her mouth to muffle the potentially earsplitting scream. Hiei glanced at his friend, alarmed.

"The pain will subside in a moment. This should heal her arm enough for her to use it tentatively in about a day. Did you make the tea?" Hiei nodded and took his place at the blood stained windowsill, letting the fox do his work. Kurama saw the steaming cup on his dresser and he sat next to Sin on the bed. Her golden eyes were wide with pain, and filled with tears that had long since overflowed and were streaming down her face. She had ceased screaming though. He spoke to her comfortingly.

"Sin, I have some tea that will take all the pain away. For the most part. But I need you to be very quiet." She nodded, and he gently removed the saliva covered towel from her mouth. He beckoned Hiei to her side, and the two of them propped her up, and Kurama helped her nurse the tea, forcing her to drink ever last bitter drop. She glared at him from over the cup, and he just grimaced. "Surely you're not childish enough to not drink your medicine just because it doesn't taste like candy."

She rolled her eyes and examined the rippling green-blue cast on her arm. "One of your weirdo plants?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. He glared at her.

"Just shut up. Where else are you hurt?" She held up her right arm and he quickly bandaged it, then set about placing ointment on the many bruises that colored her tan skin. She fought the urge to wince, putting on a tough face for the fire demon sitting on the other side of her. "There. I think that's it."

Sin ran her hands over her body, checking for any places where she might be injured and not know it yet. She found none and nodded, pleased at her brother's handiwork. Emina slipped back into the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Suddenly she was next to Kurama, enveloping her best friend in a not so gentle hug.

"Ow! Emi! I'm injured! Give me a break!" Sin said, jokingly pushing the red eyed beauty away from her, swallowing the cry of pain that rose in her throat.

"I'm so sorry Sin-chan!" Emina grasped her friend's hand as tightly as she dared. She stared at the broken girl's face, feeling horrible that she hadn't been able to help her friend when she really needed it. A long heavy silence enveloped the room, and Sin shifted a bit uncomfortably, still not wanting to face the betrayal she had experienced. Kurama spoke first, tugging on Emina's hair, asking,

"So did it work?" Emina nodded proudly.

"Did what work?" Sin asked, glancing between her best friend and her older brother questioningly.

"I manipulated Shiori-san's mind." Emina explained. "Here's what she thinks happened. Sin, you came home around five o'clock, crying because your boyfriend broke up with you. I hope thats ok. We came into Kurama's room to comfort you, and decided to decorate the tree tomorrow." Kurama nodded, as it was a very convincing and easy story to remember. He felt a pang of guilt at allowing his mother's mind to be tampered with, but it was safer to keep her in the dark, at least for the moment. Emina turned her ruby gaze to the fire demon, sitting alone in the bloody windowsill. "Now what really happened?"

Hiei didn't answer for a long time. His hand fell to his hip and he calmly withdrew his blood soaked katana, cleaning it on the hem of his cloak, at a loss for words. Sin's face had turned to stone, and Kurama could almost see her retracting inside herself. Three minutes past, the only sound being the rustle of cloth as Hiei painstakingly polished his sword.

Kurama softly restated Emina's question without looking at him. "Who did this to my sister?"

"That boyfriend of hers." Hiei said with an almost palpable hatred. Emina's eyes widened, realizing how true her made up story had been. Kurama felt his blood run cold. He should have known… Why did he let her see him? He forced down his anger to hear the rest of the story.

"I found them in Makai after you sent me to look for them. Turns out the boy was a demon. He said something about using her as bait to lure you. Apparently you stole something very important from him." Kurama stared at Hiei, shocked to find the boy who his sister found so irresistible was really just another of his vengeful victims.

"He used me." Sin cut in, her voice cracking. "He manipulated my mind. He made me fall for him. That's why I didn't notice his energy." She clenched her fist tightly, gritting her teeth before continuing. "He kept saying 'just a minute longer.' When you didn't come, he hit me, knocked me out." Her slender fingers traced the bandage on her head. "When I woke up we were in Makai. He said that when you came to find me, he would kill you. I tried to tell him you wouldn't come but he wouldn't listen. I kept arguing with him… I was so angry… And then… I tried to fight him and…" She trailed off as tears filled her eyes. Kurama nodded, her broken explanation was enough for now.

Emina hugged her. "Even if it was just suggestion you still loved him. It was real for you"

Sin shook her head defiantly. "I love no one but you Emi." She said, a certain childish quality in her voice, a stubbornness that reassured everyone that she was still the same Sin. Nevertheless Kurama could hear the hidden tone in her voice that left him unconvinced of her brazen statement. Hiei picked up where she left off.

"I found them fighting, although he was winning. He hid his aura well but did nothing to hide hers. Probably to lure you unsuspectingly into his trap."

"Where is he now?" Kurama asked, already half sure of the answer.

"Right where I left him." Hiei sheathed his katana with a sharp click, signaling the end of the discussion. Emina opened her mouth to question him further, but Kurama shook his head at her, and she took the hint and kept quiet. It was obvious how tired, emotionally and physically, Sin was.

"Let's get you to bed." He said, petting his sister's black hair fondly. Her eyelids were already drooping, and she didn't bother to protest. Hiei stood from the windowsill and scooped the girl up in his arms tenderly, ignoring Kurama's suggestively raised eyebrows. He carried the dark haired girl in his arms, ignoring the moonlit tears that flowed freely from her amber eyes, to her bedroom, and laid her down in her bed.

Emina took Kurama's hand and padded softly into Sin's room, hesitating at the doorway for a moment before quietly approaching Sin's bed, and tucking the covers around her, her eyes gentle. She gave her friend a gentle kiss on the forehead, and Sin's eyes drifted closed. Kurama was vaguely reminded of Shiori, bending over Sin when she was sick, singing to her until she fell asleep.

Emina stood there, her silver hair reflecting the partial moonlight streaming in around Hiei's body from the window, for a long time. She kept stroking Sin's hair, and Kurama knew she would stay there all night. He pulled a futon from Sin's closet and laid it next to the bed. Emina smiled up at the red head and mouthed, 'Thank you.', and gave him a hug goodnight, before reaching up to kiss his cheek.

Sin's eyes opened slightly, and she reached out for Emi's hand. Emina took it and squeezed lightly, letting go just long enough to slip under the covers of the futon, then she took the her friend's hand again. Kurama started for his room, but he stopped in the doorway and looked back, taking in the scene.

Emina lying beneath Sin, the girls' breath slowing, evening out, their hands intertwined, not to part until they awoke. Hiei sat in his place in the windowsill, silently guarding the girls, an inky silhouette against the window, his glowing red eyes shining in the dark. Kurama sighed. Obviously, it was going to be left to him to clean up after the night's events. He gently closed the door and slipped back into his room.

A deep groan slipped from between his lips. He scanned the room, noting the blood soaked sheets and towels, the scattered seeds on the floor, some of which had been crushed into the carpet in all the chaos. He approached the window, opening it to let out the metallic stench that filled the room, and his hands came away bloody. His gaze fell to the window sill. It was blood stained, and the wood was drinking in the dreaded color.

Kurama took a deep breath and grudgingly stripped his bed of the bloody sheets, beginning his long night of cleaning.

_**There you go! The next update is coming. It has a lot of explainations. Special thanks to patlegrand3 who this chapter is dedicated to. Thank you for your patience. And thanks for the message. It made me really happy.**_


	4. When Emotions Spontaneously Combust

_**I apologize to everyone for the wait! Especially Emina! Here is your belated Christmas present! I'm sorry for the shortness… but something tells me you'll like it!**_

_**By the way, the title refers to the end… I was looking for the right word and couldn't find it so… tee hee…**_

Kurama's eyes snapped open and he lay tense in his bed, ready to jump up and strike at any moment. The all too familiar metallic sent of blood wafted before his nose, strong and overpowering. He sat up slowly and scanned the room for the source of the thick stench that hung heavy in the air. His eyes scanned the room landing inexplicably on the mirror directly across from his bed. He stared for a moment in shock, before recoiling sharply from the image reflected in the mirror. Piercing golden eyes stared back at him the same shock glimmering in their depths. He stood slowly, watching as sleek silver hair swept over his shoulder, and swayed gracefully behind him as he walked to the mirror. He glanced down quickly, confirming much to his confusion, that his hair was indeed still crimson. He looked up, and placed a hand against the mirror, watching in fascination as a clawed, slightly larger hand met his. He looked into a face he remembered from long ago, fully matured, with a rather pronounced jaw line framed by fine silver hair and silver twitching ears. He stared in wonder for a moment at his past, Youko, the legendary fox thief. Then the gold eyes narrowed with malice and mischief, and the clawed hand trapped his own in a vice grip. His eyes widened in shock, and Youko's lips parted, and the fox gave one strong tug and Kurama fell headfirst into darkness, the words roaring in his ears.

"Its time."

Kurama shot up in bed, tangled in shredded sheets. He fought them for a moment before his rational mind took over and he lay still for a second. He untangled his hands first, noting with a shiver that his fingers couldn't have caused that much damage. He slid out of bed, and stripped off the sheets, stuffing them into the hamper to be sewn later, irritated that he would have to change sheets twice. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had the inexplicable urge to check on the people he cared about, to make sure they were alright.

He peeked in on his mother just long enough to confirm she was still safe and well, feeling the horrid pang of guilt for allowing her mind to be tampered with. He closed the door softly, and turned to Sin's room. Hiei was asleep on the windowsill, a stoic unmovable guardian to the girls beneath him. Somehow, Emina had slipped into the bed with Sin, and they lay together, comforting each other, Emina cradling Sin's wounds so as not to hurt her.

So his nightmare had been only in his head. He sighed in relief, glancing once more at the heartwarming scene before him before shutting the door softly. There was no room for him.

He sat at the kitchen table, nursing a hot cup of tea. His mind raced in circles. Youko was back. But he had already decided to stay as Suiichi, Shiori's devoted son. Did the dream really mean anything? Had his demon powers fully matured once more, or was it all just a figment of his imagination? And how could he have let Emina tamper with his mother's mind. It was a drastic measure, but he hadn't exactly been thinking clearly. He had needed Emina to be occupied, and he needed to think of a way to cover up Sin's injuries, but had it really been necessary?

He heard a rustle by the doorway and turned to see Emina standing there, her clothes a bit wrinkled from sleeping in them, her eyes still sleepy.

"Good morning Kurama…" She mumbled. He smiled at her, finding his worries had simply been swept away.

"Good morning Emina. Would you like me to make you some breakfast."

She laughed. "I'd rather you not burn the house down. I'll do it."

With that she set about making pancakes and scrambled eggs. He watched her, content with the comfortable silence between them. She was focused, intent on getting everything right, for, despite her talk, she wasn't much better at cooking than he was.

"How is Sin?"

"She's still asleep. Hiei is watching over her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself anymore."

"That's good." He rose, retrieving a mortar and pestle from the counter.

"What are you doing?" Emina asked, her crimson eyes staring at him curiously as he ground together a few seeds from his fiery mane.

"I'm making some tea for Sin that will act as a painkiller even more powerful than the one last night. She'll need to be able to walk today, or Shiori will notice."

She was silent for a moment, then she turned to him, and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look up at her. "Are you mad at me?"

He stared up at her, surprised. "No? Should I be?"

"I mean, last night, I messed with Shiori's memory, and… well…"

He pulled his hand away from hers as he stood up, before enveloping her in a warm hug. Her small frame fit perfectly against him, and his heart skipped a beat. "No. I'm not mad at you. Not at all. It was nessecary."

Her arms wrapped around his waist and she spoke quietly, her voice muffled by his shirt. "Are you sure? I really don't want you to be mad."

"I could never be mad at you Emi." He replied. He closed his eyes, and breathed in her scent, kissing the top of her head gently.

"Why not?" She asked, the hint of stubbornness in her voice proving she didn't actually believe him. He chuckled slightly.

He didn't know why he did what he did next. He would spend hours later pondering just what had come over him. He would never understand why he spoke then, why he hadn't continued to restrain himself. He would claim momentary insanity when defending his actions, Sin's injury and his allowance of altering Shiori's mind coupled with his horrible nightmare had caused him to act irrationally. To reach out to what he had established time and time again was forbidden territory. Eventually he would have to give up, and admit to himself, and himself only, that the words felt just right as they spilled from his lips.

"Because I love you." He replied, much to his own shock. He felt her grow very still in his arms, and he felt his face grow very red. She looked up at him, her face blossoming into a lovely pink.

"W-What?"

There was no backing down now. His sense of right and wrong had been thrown to the winds.

"I love you, Emina."

With that, he tilted her head up with one finger and gently, softly, brushed his lips against hers.

_**Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand…. Cliffhanger! I hope you liked it! I hope to have another chapter out maybe for New Years? *wink wink* **_

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS EMI!**_


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